Damian's Oracle Read online

  Damian's Oracle

  Title Page

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Damian’s Oracle

  By Lizzy Ford

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  Copyright 2010 by Lizzy Ford

  Smashwords Edition

  Cover design copyright 2010 by Matt Edmondson

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  Smashwords edition license notes:

  Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

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  See other titles by Lizzy Ford at http://www.guerrillawordfare.com/

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  This book contains explicit language that may be inappropriate for children under the age of 18.

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  CHAPTER ONE

  “So … did the doc say you’re turning into a vampire?”

  Sofia dropped her purse on the desk in her cube without removing her sunglasses. The early December sun couldn’t set fast enough to prevent her pounding headache from growing worse on her drive to work. She ignored the hunk in her cube, hoping he’d take the hint.

  “Vampiress,” Jake pressed. “I brought you something.”

  He held out a bottle of red water.

  “You can pretend it’s blood.”

  “You have five minutes to leave my cube, or I’ll bite your neck!” she retorted.

  “Really, what’d the doc say?” Jake grew serious and sat in the spare chair in her cube.

  Sofia rubbed her temples. She was better off pulling a random diagnosis out of a hat.

  “No brain tumors,” she replied. “Probably not the neurological issue they thought. They’re looking at other ideas.”

  “Do they know what makes you allergic to light and eat raw steaks covered in peanut butter for every meal?”

  “They’re not raw, and I only eat them for dinner.”

  “Did the doc explain your mood swings, too?”

  She gritted her teeth. She’d known Jake since her junior year of college. They dated in college, parted ways mutually, and ended up working for the same financial planning firm in Virginia. Normally, she felt privileged that he still gave her the time of day, what with the way he’d turned out – formed like a Greek god with hazel eyes so pretty their boss swooned every time she spoke to him. But today, she didn’t want to be reminded that she’d changed from a normal human being into a sunlight intolerant, moody bitch in the two months since her 28th birthday.

  “Think you can talk the boss into letting me come in an hour or two later?” she asked.

  “Yeah, easy. I just smile pretty. Doesn’t work on you, but it does on her.”

  “Thanks, Jake. The headaches are getting worse.”

  “Sofi, I’m worried,” he said, softening. “What’s going on?”’

  “The doctors don’t know,” she said with a sigh. “They’re flying in a specialist from overseas. They said it might be some sort of rare blood disorder.”

  “What the hell does that mean? That they really don’t have a clue?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “I googled your symptoms,” Jake said and unfolded a piece of paper. “A lot of bullshit posted by wannabe vampires and Twilight fans. But I found this, too.”

  He handed her the page.

  “This is fruit punch, by the way,” he said, nudging the bottle of red water towards her. “Your favorite, right?”

  “I don’t remember telling you that.”

  “Anyway, among the wacko postings, I found this site.”

  He held up the paper to reveal a link to a website with a single name and phone number written on it.

  Damian Bylun

  “What is this?” she asked, accepting the paper.

  Jake wiped his mouth the way he did when he admitted to cheating on her eight years ago. She lifted her sunglasses to squint at him.

  “It’s a blog this doctor guy keeps. In it, he describes what you’re going through.”

  “For real?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How did you find it? I spent days surfing the net. Even Katy tried to help.”

  “Aw well, you and your BFF just aren’t as good as The Jake. She’s still a bitch, by the way.”

  She rolled her eyes. He’d never gotten over her BFF refusing to date him after she dumped him. Jake’s ego was as large as his size sixteen feet.

  “What does he say my symptoms are?”

  “I don’t know. His blog is firewalled from here, though, so you should just call him.”

  Damian Bylun. It struck a cord deep within her, as if she should know it. Struck by something else, she removed her sunglasses and eyed Jake.

  “You know you haven’t spoken to me more than to say hello in five years. I haven’t been able to get you out of my cube for the past two weeks. What’s up with that, Jake?”

  He chuckled and rubbed his mouth again.

  “I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching and am just trying to … be a better person.”

  She could almost see him standing before his mirror practicing the line before going to the bars to pick up chics. But, whatever he was hiding couldn’t be that important.

  “I’ll look at this later,” she said. “Go forth and leave me be, The Jake. Leave the punch.”

  “Sofia, I really think you should call this guy,” he said, looking her in the eye. “Please.”

  A sense of uneasiness ran through her at the gravity in his normally light tone.

  “Fine, I will.”

  He flashed a smile and strode from her cube. Sofia looked at the paper again. She retrieved her cell and tucked the paper into her pocket. Snatching her sunglasses, she almost made it to the door before she heard Lacy’s voice.

  “Sofia, can you come see me?”

  She grimaced and turned to see the tall blond retreating towards her office. Lacy wore a skirt too short and tight for office wear, but when you’re the boss …

  “I noticed you’ve been taking a lot of sick time lately,” Lacy said as she entered.

  “Yeah, I’m having some issues,” Sofia replied.

  “Jake told me. HR passed it to upper management. I need you to bring in some sort of paperwork from your doctor stating what’s wrong.”

  “They don’t know what’s wrong. I can bring you another one of the notes verifying that’s where I am when I’m missing work.”

  Lacy looked up from the memo in her hands.

  “What do you mean? They’re doctors. Of course they know what’s wrong. And those notes aren’t good enough.”

  “They really don’t know,” she said again.

  “I can’t make reasonable accommodations for you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

  “That makes no sense, Lacy. If I have a doctor’s note saying I’m under their care, isn’t that good enough until they figure it out?”

  Lacy arched a delicate eyebrow.

  “No, it’s not,” she snapped. “I need a diagnosis, and I need a treatment plan.”

  “A what?”

  “You deaf now, too?”

  Sofia bit her tongue. She lacked Jake’s golden tongue, and her bluntness had gotten her in trouble more than once. Normally she acquiesced in favo
r of a paycheck, but Lacy’s demand was bizarre, even by Lacy-standards.

  “Look, Lacy, I’m not trying to be difficult. I’m so frustrated right now. I just came back from a battery of tests that said nothing’s wrong with me.”

  The moments the words left her mouth, she knew her mistake. Lacy’s eyebrows shot up.

  “What do you mean there’s nothing wrong? Are you making this up?”

  “No, Lacy, what I meant is that whatever is wrong - “

  “So you’re a basket case. One of those aphrodisiacs or something.”

  “Hypochondriac, not aphro - “

  “I meant, you’re making it up!” Lacy snarled. “Aphro, hypo, who gives a damn. They’re the same thing! You’ve been lying to me!”

  “No, Lacy - “

  “Worse, you’ve been lying to Jake, too? Oh my God, what - “

  “Lacy, stop!” Sofia snapped, standing. “I haven’t lied to you. They don’t know what’s wrong, and I’m not making it up!”

  “You’ve always thought yourself soooo much better than the rest of us, and I’m sick of your attitude. Now you’re lying to me about being sick. You know what? Until you can prove you’ve got some damn disease, you’re on leave without pay.”

  Stunned, Sofia stared at her.

  “Lacy, I’m - “

  “Shut up and get the fuck out!”

  Surprise, then fury lit her insides.

  “Fine,” she said, wrenching the office door open. “But Lacy, everyone knows you’re screwing Jake.”

  Lacy’s mouth dropped open. Dimly, Sofia knew she’d never work there again after that low blow. She snatched her bag and hurried home, not reflecting on her behavior until she tossed her coat on the bed.

  “Stupid, stupid, stupid!”

  Her cell rang. She dug it out of her pocket.

  “Hey, Katy,” she said, kicking off her shoes. “What’s up?”

  “Hey hon, Jake told me you quit work?”

  “Jake?” she echoed.

  “He’s still a dick. You’re not seeing him again, are you?”

  “Katy, I have a headache. I’ll call you later.”

  Sofia hung up, frustrated. She emptied her pockets and tossed her lunch in the fridge. When she retreated to the bathroom, she flipped on the light, cringed, but forced herself to stare at her reflection in the mirror over the sink.

  She was going to die. She just knew it. Whatever her disease, it had eluded the doctors for months. By the time they found out what it was, she’d probably be near-dead, like stage four cancer. She stared at her reflection, caught by something else that didn’t seem right. She leaned forward, staring at her irises. Her eyes had always been a pretty shade of turquoise, her favorite feature. But instead of a rim of darker blue surrounding her irises, they were rimmed by a thick band of iridescent silver.

  “Oh, my God,” she whispered.

  As she stared, the silver seemed to flare into a deep glow and swirl around her irises like cars around a racetrack. She closed her eyes and opened them again. The silver was still again.

  “Hallucinations!”

  She ran to her desk and pulled out a journal, jotting down her latest symptom.

  Sensitivity to light, enhanced hearing so I can’t sleep without noise cancellation headphones, aversion to fish, crave meat and broccoli, nails growing faster, HEADACHES, HEADACHES, HEADACHES, stuffy nose, addiction to peanut butter, weight loss, general weakness …

  The strange symptoms went on for three pages. She read the list until panic stirred in her breast. Claustrophobic in the dark cave that had become her home, she grabbed her coat and purse and set out into the cold, brisk night. She didn’t want to die, and she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life without ever seeing the sun again like Brad Pitt in Interview with a Vampire.

  She joined crowds of people milling through downtown Crystal City to see the Christmas displays and shop. The sight of such normalcy calmed her, until someone brushed against her.

  A man’s face, a woman in the hospital on her death bed, their children surrounding them.

  “I’m so sorry!” someone said, steadying her as she staggered under the impact of the sudden image.

  Her vision cleared, and she looked into the face of the man from her vision, though he was much younger standing before her.

  “I’m ok,” she said, forcing a smile. “Thanks.”

  He continued on his way, holding out his hand to the woman awaiting him. The woman who would die in twenty three years from ovarian cancer.

  Sofia shrugged the sense of foreboding away and stuffed her hands into her pockets. Her fingers brushed the folded paper Jake had given her. She pulled it free and stared at it, once again compelled to the name written there. She made her way to a coffee shop and sat at a table in the darker end of the shop, hot cocoa in hand. Someone careened into her as she pried her cell from her pocket.

  “Toby, watch where you’re going!” a mother scolded the five year old sprawled on the floor.

  Sofia reached for him, helping him to his feet.

  Toby, sprawled in the middle of the street after being hit by a car, blood trickling from his skull into a nearby storm drain. His dark eyes were open and staring.

  “Sorry about that,” the young mother said, flashing a smile.

  Sofia blinked out of her stupor.

  “No problem.”

  Yet another symptom of her illness: insanity! She looked again at the name on the paper and dialed.

  “This is Sondra. How may I direct your call?” a pleasant voice answered.

  “Um, hi, I uh, found this number on Dr. Bylun’s blog. I’m not sure he can help me, but I would really like to speak to him.”

  “We have a Mr. Bylun, but he doesn’t have a blog. Perhaps you have the wrong number?”

  “Ok, I admit someone else said they found this on his blog and said I should call.”

  There was a moment of silence, and she could almost see Sondra assessing what to do.

  “Why don’t you leave me your name, and if Mr. Bylun believes it in his best interest, he’ll return your call.”

  The cryptic response made her hesitate. Sofia sighed and raked a hand through her hair.

  “Why not. I don’t have anything to lose. My name is Sofia Fast from Crystal City, Virginia.”

  “And what is your call regarding?”

  “I’m sick. I have some sort of disease no one can diagnose, and one of my coworkers gave me this number to try.”

  “Who referred you?”

  “Jake Hampton.”

  She heard the secretary typing.

  “I’m afraid he’s not in my system,” she said. “I’ll deliver your message. Please don’t be surprised if Mr. Bylun opts not to return your call.”

  She hung up and stared at the number on the paper, wondering if Jake had lied to her or if he flat out screwed up the number. He really wasn’t a man of detail, which was why she was so surprised to see him working as a financial planner. She’d definitely never trust her money to him.

  Her cell rang, and she recognized her doctor’s number.

  “Ms. Fast, this is Linda from Dr. Mallard’s office.”

  “Hi Linda.”

  “Dr. Mallard wanted me to give you a call and schedule an appointment for tomorrow morning, first thing.”

  “Oh, God, what’s wrong now?”

  “The specialist he flew in from Zurich arrives tonight. He’s apparently really interested in meeting you.”

  “Really? I’d love to come in. What time do you open?”

  “Seven. I’ll schedule you for 7:15 so Dr. Mallard can get his first cup of coffee.”

  “That’s awesome, Linda. Thank you so much for calling!”

  “No problem. We’ll see you tomorrow at 7:15.”

  Hopeful, Sofia crumpled up the paper with Dr. Bylun’s information. If Dr. Mallard’s international guest was that anxious to see her, he must know what was going on! She sipped her cocoa, cheered by the thought of soon knowing wh
at was wrong with her.

  The sound of screeching tires and a scream soon drew the patrons from the coffee shop to the window. Sofia stuffed Dr. Bylun’s paper into her empty cup, tossed it, and joined the onlookers lining the street. Somewhere a few blocks away, an ambulance wailed. A drunk man staggered from a dark blue BMW. She walked up the street to a better vantage point, curious to see what he hit.

  She froze at the sight straight out of her vision. The little boy, Toby, spread-eagled in the street near the storm drain. His mother was hysterical, screaming at once at the driver and her dead son.

  Coldness seeped through her as she watched the familiar scene before her. In the distance, she heard her cell phone ring. It ceased and began to ring again. As if in a dream, she pulled it free and answered.

  “Ms. Fast?”

  The deep baritone voice pierced her thoughts.

  “This is Damian Bylun. You left a message with my receptionist?”

  Her world was beginning to spin as she realized her vision had come true. Her legs felt weak, and she sat heavily on the curb, struggling to control her breathing so she didn’t pass out.

  God, what’s wrong with me? I saw him die …

  “Pardon?”

  Realizing she clenched the phone in her hand, she flipped it closed and sat staring at the asphalt. Someone touched her, and visions flared across her mind. A pretty brunette, mugged in a back alley, raped and killed.

  “Miss, are you alright?”

  Someone else touched her, took her arm to help her stand, and more visions flooded her. An older man with dementia left to rot and finally die in an old folk’s home.

  “Get away from me!” she cried, tearing away.

  She fled, staggering as she bumped into more people and more visions flashed. She ran until the cold air burned her lungs and the people were far behind her. She retreated to her apartment, breathing raggedly with cold tears stiffening her cheeks.

  She closed and locked the door behind her. She froze when she saw the disaster that was her apartment. Everything was overturned or shredded, from the furniture to the bookshelves to the TV lying on its face. The windows were open and the apartment cold.